This morning I'm sitting infront of my computor with dry eyes, thick makeup, a strategically placed cap and a sense of inner contentment. Last night I may not have slept much but I did experience one of the best gigs I've ever been to. Yesterday afternoon Steve, Benny, Smiles and I made a traffic wraught journey up to Crystal palace to join the thousands of other Coldplay fans pouring into the arena...
I really can't tell you how good it was! Morning Runner and Supergrass did a fine job supporting (Supergrass surprisingly so) and as the sun went down and Coldplay burst onto the stage the crowd were eager and the band were passionate.
There were too many highlights to list, every other song we were turning to each other and shouting - I love this one - with a big thumbs up or exagerated expressions to communicate over the booming music. Coldplay were relaxed, funny, humble and looked like they really enjoyed the music they played.
Chris Martin is a very physical performer and as the band swapped instruments and bounded around the stage they looked like a bunch of mates having a really good time. It was an entirely different gig to U2 last week. The show was far from flawless, one of video screens had a matrix like strip of back and green accross it and for half the gig a technician was hanging precariously from a harness trying to fix it. Chris Martin hit a few bum notes on the piano and span the guitarist around so he couldn't finish his riffs. But all of this just added to the character of the performance.
Download clip34.3gpIt felt less like a spectacle and more like a small gig that happened to be hosted in an arena. The banter was easy and amusing, the music was incredible and the crowd were caught the current of emotion and passion. It was quite moving actually and Smiles especially had an amazing time with God. Kingdom come was a highlight for me, stripped back, simple and profound; "I will wait for you til Kingdom Come".
Download clip35.3gpWe made a few recordings of the show. The one above is a brief snatch of Clocks and the one here is a the very end of the evening, a gorgeous rendition of Fix You - easilly my favourite song on X&Y.
It seems that the concerts I go to these days are increasingly more like justice and worship rallies, they're just not organised by a church. My year of the gig is going quite well, I'm rather pleased! Next up will hopefully be The Roots in August and KT Tunstall in October! xc